Biblical Study on Predestination vs. Free Will
1) Many people abhor the idea that God predestines. That he might predestine everything creates strong revulsion. Give three reasons why people often reject this doctrine.
Three reasons why most people would reject this would be: 1) They want to be able to say they had a part in "accepting" Christ as Lord and Savior and cannot accept the fact that they had no power to trust Christ on their own. 2) Given that most teaching since the Second Great Awakening has been Arminian theology most people have been schooled in this thought. Since this is what most have been taught all of their lives in their respective denominations it follows that an intense hatred for predestination teaching would come about. 3) Predestination implies that God saves some but not others -- they go to hell. People cannot accept the fact that a God of love will actually allow some to go to eternal punishment. Most think that all are inherently good and should therefore go to heaven.
2) As you begin this study, a) What are your own feelings about the doctrine that God predestines history and even you own life? B) How might such a doctrine effect your daily walk with the Lord?
My own feelings about how God predestines history and my own life... I have no problem accepting this as fact. If God is all-knowing concerning the things past, present, and future, and if He has made all things for his glory (even the wicked for the day of judgment, Proverbs 16:4), then I believe He has predestined all that has happened and all that will happen. If anything happens outside of what God allows and has predestined then God is not God because something out there is more powerful than He if it can thwart His plan. This affects my daily walk with the Lord with regard to giving me an intense faith in God. There is nothing that can happen or has happened that God is not in complete control of. Because of this my faith is strong. My daily walk with God is to be seen as non-worrisome and confident in the fact that God works out all that I perceive as bad for His own glory. If this were not the case I would have to live with the very shaky belief that I am my own master -- a belief I firmly reject.
3) Quote, paraphrase or state the meaning of each (individually) of the following OT texts: 1Sam2:6-10; 1Chr 29:11-14; Ps 135:6; 139:1-16; Pr 16:4,9,33; 20:24; Ecc 3:11-15; Isa 45:1-13; 46:9-10; 55:11; 63:16-17.
1Sam 2:6-10
-- "The LORD brings death and makes alive; he brings down to the grave and raises up. The LORD sends poverty and wealth; he humbles and he exalts. He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the ash heap; he seats them with princes and has them inherit a throne of honor. "For the foundations of the earth are the LORD's; upon them he has set the world. 'He will guard the feet of his saints, but the wicked will be silenced in darkness. "It is not by strength that one prevails; those who oppose the LORD will be shattered. He will thunder against them from heaven; the LORD will judge the ends of the earth. "He will give strength to his king and exalt the horn of his anointed."1Chr 29:11-14 -- Yours, O LORD, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the majesty and the splendor, for everything in heaven and earth is yours. Yours, O LORD, is the kingdom; you are exalted as head over all. Wealth and honor come from you; you are the ruler of all things. In your hands are strength and power to exalt and give strength to all. Now, our God, we give you thanks, and praise your glorious name. "But who am I, and who are my people, that we should be able to give as generously as this? Everything comes from you, and we have given you only what comes from your hand.
Ps 135:6 -- The LORD does whatever pleases him, in the heavens and on the earth, in the seas and all their depths.
Ps 139:1-16 -- O LORD, you have searched me and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways. Before a word is on my tongue you know it completely, O LORD. You hem me in-- behind and before; you have laid your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain. Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast. If I say, "Surely the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me," even the darkness will not be dark to you; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to you. For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.
Prov 16:4 -- The LORD works out everything for his own ends-- even the wicked for a day of disaster.
Prov 16:9 -- In his heart a man plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps.
Prov 16:33 -- The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the LORD.
Prov 20:24 -- A man's steps are directed by the LORD. How then can anyone understand his own way?
Eccl 3:11-15 -- He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end. I know that there is nothing better for men than to be happy and do good while they live. That everyone may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all his toil-- this is the gift of God. I know that everything God does will endure forever; nothing can be added to it and nothing taken from it. God does it so that men will revere him. Whatever is has already been, and what will be has been before; and God will call the past to account.
Isa 45:1-13 -- "This is what the LORD says to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I take hold of to subdue nations before him and to strip kings of their armor, to open doors before him so that gates will not be shut: I will go before you and will level the mountains; I will break down gates of bronze and cut through bars of iron. I will give you the treasures of darkness, riches stored in secret places, so that you may know that I am the LORD, the God of Israel, who summons you by name. For the sake of Jacob my servant, of Israel my chosen, I summon you by name and bestow on you a title of honor, though you do not acknowledge me. I am the LORD, and there is no other; apart from me there is no God. I will strengthen you, though you have not acknowledged me, so that from the rising of the sun to the place of its setting men may know there is none besides me. I am the LORD, and there is no other. I form the light and create darkness, I bring prosperity and create disaster; I, the LORD, do all these things. "You heavens above, rain down righteousness; let the clouds shower it down. Let the earth open wide, let salvation spring up, let righteousness grow with it; I, the LORD, have created it. "Woe to him who quarrels with his Maker, to him who is but a potsherd among the potsherds on the ground. Does the clay say to the potter, 'What are you making?' Does your work say, 'He has no hands'? Woe to him who says to his father, 'What have you begotten?' or to his mother, 'What have you brought to birth?' "This is what the LORD says-- the Holy One of Israel, and its Maker: Concerning things to come, do you question me about my children, or give me orders about the work of my hands? It is I who made the earth and created mankind upon it. My own hands stretched out the heavens; I marshaled their starry hosts. I will raise up Cyrus in my righteousness: I will make all his ways straight. He will rebuild my city and set my exiles free, but not for a price or reward, says the LORD Almighty."
Isa 46:9-10 -- Remember the former things, those of long ago; I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me. I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come. I say: My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please.
Isa 55:11 -- so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.
Isa 63:16-17 -- But you are our Father, though Abraham does not know us or Israel acknowledge us; you, O LORD, are our Father, our Redeemer from of old is your name. Why, O LORD, do you make us wander from your ways and harden our hearts so we do not revere you? Return for the sake of your servants, the tribes that are your inheritance.
4) Do the same with the following NT texts: Jn 6:44,65; Acts 2:23-24; 4:27-28; 13:48; Ro 8:29-30; 11:7; 13:1; Gal 1:15-16; Eph 1:3-5,11; Php 2:13; 1Pet 1:1-2; Rev 17:8.
John 6:44
-- "No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, and I will raise him up at the last day.John 6:65 -- He went on to say, "This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless the Father has enabled him."
Acts 2:23-24 -- This man was handed over to you by God's set purpose and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross. But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him.
Acts 4:27-28 -- Indeed Herod and Pontius Pilate met together with the Gentiles and the people of Israel in this city to conspire against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed. They did what your power and will had decided beforehand should happen.
Acts 13:48 -- When the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and honored the word of the Lord; and all who were appointed for eternal life believed.
Rom 8:29-30 -- For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.
Rom 11:7 -- What then? What Israel sought so earnestly it did not obtain, but the elect did. The others were hardened,
Rom 13:1 -- Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God.
Gal 1:15-16 -- But when God, who set me apart from birth and called me by his grace, was pleased to reveal his Son in me so that I might preach him among the Gentiles, I did not consult any man,
Eph 1:3-5 -- Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will--
Eph 1:11 -- In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will,
Phil 2:13 -- for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.
1 Pet 1:1-2 -- Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To God's elect, strangers in the world, scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia, who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and sprinkling by his blood: Grace and peace be yours in abundance.
Rev 17:8 -- The beast, which you saw, once was, now is not, and will come up out of the Abyss and go to his destruction. The inhabitants of the earth whose names have not been written in the book of life from the creation of the world will be astonished when they see the beast, because he once was, now is not, and yet will come.
5) In light of the above verses, a) what are the limits of divine sovereignty? Explain. B) Do these texts minimize human responsibility? Defend your answer.
Divine sovereignty has no limits except what He (God) has put on Himself. God predestines those whom He chooses to eternal life. No one knows how many people are elect nor can anyone know with any degree of certainty who is elect while on the earth. It is evident in many, but though it is not evident in many others this does not mean that they cannot be a part of the elect. God’s sovereignty means that He is above all things and in charge of all things. With regard to salvation where eternal life is concerned, God elects, but it is left to human responsibility what our choices are here on the earth. God does know all things, and He will work out all things to His glory -- even our bad choices, but our bad choices are not made by God as if we are His puppets. We have many choices we can make (salvation NOT being one), and all of them are within the boundaries of God’s sovereignty. God limits Himself in that He does grant us choices and a freewill, but our freewill is limited in scope. We do not have the choice to choose God in light of what the Bible says, but we do have choices and a freewill outside of God’s choosing us. Our choices will either bring God glory and us blessings or take glory away from God and bring us calamity. God limits Himself here and allows us to make choices.
The texts do not minimize human responsibility. We will account for who we are and what we have done when we stand before God. This encounter with the Almighty is not to judge whether or not we will enter heaven or hell, rather, it is with regard to gifts we will receive when we enter His gates. The elect are chosen by God, and each one WILL enter into heaven. The issue with our freewill will be whether or not we receive little or much with regard to gifts at the Bema seat of Christ.
6) The doctrine of human depravity does not mean that the human being is incapable of doing anything good. Various times the Bible refers to acts of human goodness: the father knows how to give good gifts to his son (Mt 7:9-11); a mother protects and cares for her child (1Kings 16:16-28); and the good Samaritan helps people in need (Luke 15:11-32). A) Define, therefore, the doctrine of human depravity (cf. 1Cor 2:14; 2Cor 4:3-4; Eph 2:1-5; 4:17-19). B) What happened to the free will of man at the Fall (Gen 3)? C) How is it, then, that non-regenerate man would be able to understand the gospel and enter into believing faith?
Human depravity means that human beings are so depraved they have no ability to come to Christ without His intervention to bring them to Him. They are blinded to the Truth, and they are blinded by Satan himself who has only the power that God has given him (cf. Job). It is God who made us alive in Christ because we were dead prior to that, and a dead man can never do anything on his own. This deadness brought about a hardening of our hearts which separated us from God. It is only through His mercy that He saw fit to intervene and bring us to Jesus.
Man’s freewill at the fall is what got him into trouble in the first place. He was left to himself, and he made a decision based on his own futile thinking. He had everything he needed and could ever possibly want, yet it was evidently not enough in his own eyes. His freewill to choose evil over good caused the entire human race to enter into sin and separation from God. But God used man’s freewill and the fall into sinfulness to demonstrate His great love for us by sending His Son to die for us. This great act of mercy and grace separates the Lord God Almighty from any other religion’s perception of God, namely, a god who needs "good" works from man in order to be appeased.
Man is only able to come to a knowledge of God, therefore, through God’s special intervention. As Jesus has said in John 6:44, "No man can come to [Christ] except the Father draw him." It is only through God that we can ever come to know Christ. Therefore, if God does not draw us to Christ then we cannot be a part of the elect. From this it is evident that God is the one doing the saving and not man. Man’s freewill is limited when it comes to choosing God, but once God has chosen man in His great mercy it is only then that man’s decisions and freewill can kick in and produce fruit or thorns.
7) Read Roman 9:1-24. In Propositions from the Epistle to the Romans (62.1-3) the newly converted Augustine (mid 390’s) comments on Romans 9:14-24: "Paul does not take away the freedom of the will, but says our will does not suffice unless God helps us... For neither can we will unless we are called, nor after our calling, once we have willed, is our will and our running sufficient unless God both gives strength to our running and leads where he calls." Later the Bishop of Hippo strengthened his position, in light of depravity, minimizing the place of human will and arguing double predestination: God determined before the creation of the world both the elect and the damned. In one paragraph, how do you understand Romans 9:14-24?
I understand Romans 9:14-24 like this: God has His own reasons for doing what He does. He does all things to bring glory to Himself, and electing some and not others is a part of that glory. God even uses men like Pharaoh, who hated the God of the Israelites, to bring glory to Himself. This is His universe and His creation. Just as a potter has the right to do whatever he wishes with his clay, so God has the right to do whatever He wishes with His creation. The clay the potter uses to make a beautiful pot did nothing to deserve such, and the clay that was not used and was thrown away was never worth anything anyway in and of itself. The fact that it ends up in the garbage is no different than if it was never used at all. The same is true with man. The fact that God saves any is evidence of His grace. The fact that some will not be saved is evidence of His justice and human depravity. God does not force man to hell and make him choose such, rather, he leaves him to his sin and, as in the case with Pharaoh, gives more freewill in which to sin all the more. In a sense it is freewill, which so many argue for, that is actually condemning many to eternal hell, not God Himself. Of course it is possible that God raised up Pharaoh and hardened his heart through no fault of his own. He may very well have done this for the sole purpose of displaying his glory through the plagues in order to bring the Israelites to a knowledge of His grace.
8) In light of the above texts, write out carefully your own definition of divine predestination.
Divine predestination is the merciful and graceful act of God to bring man to Himself and save them from the sin that has separated them from God. This act of God was accomplished from the beginning of time, long before we were ever conceived in our mother’s womb, and it was done in order to show us and the angels God’s unfathomable grace of being able to bring sinful men into the presence of a holy God.
9) When Scripture juxtapositions God’s sovereignty with his justice regarding man (Job, Habakkuk, Rom 9, 11) there is little explanation. In the midst of the biblical authors’ lack of understanding, they simply reaffirm that God indeed is both just and sovereign. A) What are the tensions that a strong view of predestination bring? B) How do you deal with these tensions?
A strong view of predestination brings hostile arguments defending God’s love for the whole world and not just the elect. God is too often viewed as being as mean as the person who believes in this difficult doctrine. It seems to separate the elect from God’s justice and give them immunity. In a sense this is correct, but God’s anger at sin was propitiated (satisfied) with Christ’s death on the cross for all men. The doctrine also implies that God loves some and not others. In defending this doctrine, which is not limited to the above verses, it must be said that a knowledge of the Bible is essential to understanding election. It permeates the Bible and is the essence of the Bible. This doctrine is one of the gems of the Christian faith, and it is not to be "thrown to the swine." This is to say that it must not be given to those who are spiritually discerned (1 Cor. 2:14) or to the new believer any more than calculus should be taught to first-graders. It is a mature doctrine for mature believers. Whether or not a believer in Christ adheres to this doctrine does not determine its validity. Defending it should be done carefully, and it should be done in light of human depravity in order to show how merciful God is in saving anyone. The fact that God chooses us shows God to be truly graceful and merciful, and it should give those who are chosen all the more reason to give glory to God.
10) In light of your own definition of divine predestination: A) What does this mean for you on a practical level? How does your view of God’s sovereignty contribute to one’s life of faith (e.g. prayer, worship, evangelism)? B) What does it imply regarding the non-believer? Does this exempt us from the evangelization of family, friends and the lost in other lands?
On a practical level believing in predestination, or God’s divine choosing of me for eternal life, gives me more reasons than I can count for doing good and showing God how much I love Him. The fact that I was saved from my true sinful destiny is reason enough for me to live my life in such a way that says "thanks" to God for His awesome act of kindness. In my zeal to know Him more I want to serve Him by teaching what I know; as for worship I never have to search for reasons to sing His praise; in evangelism I can only thank God for the greater opportunity to serve Him and be along for the ride when others come to trust Him.
As for the non-believer, we as the elect are obligated to them to share our faith and live it out. It is not for us to condemn anyone to hell claiming they are not part of the elect -- that is the kind of judging which God forbade us. Our view of unbelievers should be one of pity and mission. We pray for their salvation, and we pray that God would grant us the privilege of having a part in their salvation. We should pray like C.H. Spurgeon: "Lord, thank you for electing us to eternal life; please elect some more!" The implication should never be that they are elected to hell retrospective of our election to heaven. We may not understand all that God has planned, but we must understand our Lord’s commission to teach the gospel to all men.